6 Health Tests that Could Save Your Life

“It’s the silent risk factors that make cardiovascular disease so frightening,” Quig says. “But it’s recently become relatively easy to spot and modify these risks.”

Quig says that the traditional methodology of testing cholesterol levels is outdated by about 15 years. “Many people with low cholesterol have heart disease, and many with high cholesterol don’t have heart attacks,” Quig says. The Comprehensive Cardiovascular Risk Profile by Doctor’s Data is a simple blood test that looks at 17 markers for risk for cardiovascular disease. When viewed together they provide a very accurate risk assessment.

“There are three subspecies of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) that have a far more predictive value for cardiovascular disease than simply measuring LDL,” Quig says. In addition to looking at the subspecies of LDL, this test looks at inflammatory markers, insulin resistance, and antioxidant levels. Abnormal results are delivered in a “What is it, what does it do, and how do I lower it?” format.